Stride, Inc.

ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF    OPERATIONS

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Historical results may not indicate future performance. Our forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events, are based on assumptions, and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Factors that may cause differences between actual results and those contemplated by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, including any changes that might result from any facts, events, or circumstances after the date hereof that may bear upon forward-looking statements. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance, or achievements.

This MD&A is intended to assist in understanding and assessing the trends and significant changes in our results of operations and financial condition. As used in this MD&A, the words, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Stride, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. This MD&A should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following overview provides a summary of the sections included in our MD&A:

Executive Summary

We are a technology company providing an educational platform to deliver online learning to students throughout the U.S. Our platform hosts products and services to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, and support students. These products and services, spanning curriculum, systems, instruction, and support services, are designed to help learners of all ages reach their full potential through inspired teaching and personalized learning. Our clients are primarily public and private schools, school districts, and charter boards. Additionally, we provide solutions to employers, government agencies and consumers.

We provide a wide range of products and services across our platform with the ability to deliver customized solutions. Our comprehensive school-as-a-service offering supports our clients in operating full-time virtual schools in the K-12 market. Together with our network of online schools, Stride has served millions of students with our products and services.

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Our platform addresses two markets in the K-12 space: General Education and Career Learning.

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General Education

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General Education products and services are predominantly focused on core subjects, including math, English, science and history, for kindergarten through twelfth grade students to help build a common foundation of knowledge. These programs provide an alternative to traditional school options and address a range of student needs. Products and services are delivered as a comprehensive school-as-a-service offering for schools or as stand-alone products and services.

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A student enrolled in a school that offers Stride’s General Education program may elect to take career courses, but that student and the associated revenue is reported as a General Education enrollment and General Education revenue.

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Career Learning

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Career Learning products and services are focused on developing skills to enter and succeed in careers in high-growth, in-demand industries—including information technology, healthcare and general business. We provide middle and high school students with Career Learning programs that complement their core general education coursework. Stride offers multiple career pathways through a broad catalog of courses. The middle school program exposes students to a variety of career options and introduces career skill development. In high school, students may engage in industry content pathway courses, project-based learning in virtual teams, and career development services. High school students have the opportunity to progress toward certifications, connect with industry professionals, earn college credits while in high school, and participate in job shadowing and/or work-based learning experiences that facilitate success in today’s digital, tech-enabled economy. A student is reported as a Career Learning enrollment and associated Career Learning revenue only if the student is enrolled in a Career Learning program. Like General Education products and services, the products and services for Career Learning are sold as a comprehensive school-as-a-service offering or as stand-alone products and services.

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We also provide focused post-secondary career learning programs to adult learners, for the software engineering, healthcare, and medical fields. These programs are sold directly to consumers, employers and government agencies.

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For both the General Education and Career Learning markets, the majority of revenue is derived from our comprehensive school-as-a-service offering which includes an integrated package of curriculum, technology systems, instruction, and support services that we administer on behalf of our customers. The average duration of the agreements for our school-as-a-service offering is greater than five years, and most provide for automatic renewals absent a customer notification of non-renewal.

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During the 2025-2026 school year, we provided our school-as-a-service offering to 92 schools in 31 states and the District of Columbia in the General Education market, and 57 schools or programs in 25 states and the District of Columbia in the Career Learning market.

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In 2020, we significantly expanded our Career Learning opportunity by acquiring three adult learning companies, Galvanize, Tech Elevator, and MedCerts. These Adult Learning brands deliver training in software engineering and allied healthcare to consumers and enterprises.

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We generate a significant portion of our revenues from the sale of curriculum, administration support and technology services to virtual and blended public schools. The amount of revenue generated from these contracts is impacted largely by the number of enrollments, the mix of enrollments across grades and states, state or district per student funding levels and attendance requirements, among other items.

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The two key financial metrics that we use to assess financial performance are revenues and operating income. During the year ended June 30, 2026, revenues increased to $2,518.1 million from $2,405.3 million in the prior year, an increase of 4.7%. Over the same period, operating income increased to $450.8 million from $360.1 million in the prior year, an increase of 25.2%. The increase in operating income was driven by revenue growth and lower selling, general, and administrative expenses. Additionally, we use the non-financial metric of total enrollments to assess performance, as enrollment is a key driver of our revenues. Total enrollments for the year ended June 30, 2026 were 243.9 thousand, an increase of 9.9 thousand, or 4.2%, over the prior year. Our revenues are subject to annual school district financial audits, which incorporate enrollment counts, funding and other routine financial audit considerations. The results from these audits and other routine changes in funding estimates are incorporated into the Company’s monthly funding estimates for the current and prior periods. Historically, aggregate funding estimates have differed from actual reimbursements, generally in the range of 2% of annual revenue or less, which may vary from year to year.

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Key Aspects and Trends of Our Operations

Revenues—Overview

We generate a significant portion of our revenues from the sale of curriculum, administration support and technology services to virtual and blended public schools. We anticipate that these revenues will continue to represent the majority of our total revenues over the next several years. However, we also expect revenues in other aspects of our business to continue to increase as we execute on our growth strategy. Our growth strategy includes increasing revenues in other distribution channels, expanding our adult learning training programs, adding enrollments in our private schools, and expanding our traditional public schools sales channel. Combined revenues from these other sectors were significantly smaller than those from the virtual and blended public schools we served in the year ended June 30, 2026. Our success in executing our strategies will impact future growth. We have several sales channels from which we generate revenues that are discussed in more detail below.

Factors affecting our revenues include:

Virtual Schools

Our educational platform can be offered in an integrated package of systems, services, products, and professional expertise to support a virtual public school. Customers of these programs can obtain administrative support, information technology, academic support services, online curriculum, learning systems and instructional services under the terms of negotiated service and product agreements. These contracts are negotiated with, and approved by, the governing authorities of the customer. During any fiscal year, the Company may enter into new agreements, receive non-automatic renewal notices, negotiate replacement agreements, terminate such agreements or receive notices of termination, or customers may transition a school to a different offering. The governing boards may also establish school policies and other terms and conditions over the course of a contract, such as enrollment parameters. The authorizers who issue the charters to our school-as-a-service customers can renew, revoke, or modify those charters as well.

The majority of our revenue is derived from these school-as-a-service service agreements with the governing authorities of our public school partners. In addition to providing a comprehensive course catalog, related books and physical materials, a learning management system (“LMS”) for online learning, and, in certain cases, student computers, we also provide these schools a variety of administrative support, technology and academic support services. Full-time virtual and blended school students access online lessons over the internet and utilize offline learning materials we provide. Students receive assignments, complete lessons, take assessments, and are instructed by teachers with whom they interact via email, telephonically, in synchronous virtual classroom environments, and sometimes face to face.

Traditional School Districts

We also distribute our educational platform to schools and school districts across the U.S. and provide access to our digital content, learning software, teachers, and support services. Public schools and school districts are increasingly adopting digital educational solutions to augment teaching practices, launch new learning models, cost effectively expand course offerings, provide schedule flexibility, improve student engagement, increase graduation rates, replace textbooks,

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and retain students. State education funds traditionally allocated for textbook and print materials have also been authorized for the purchase of digital content, including online courses, and, in some cases, have mandated access to online courses.

Consumer Sales

We provide tuition-based online private schools that meet a range of student needs from individual course credit recovery to college preparatory programs. These programs address students and families in the states in which we do not offer a free public option, as well as students looking for additional flexibility. Additionally, many families can use education savings accounts, tax credits and vouchers to attend these schools for low or no cost. We also pursue international opportunities where we believe there is significant demand for quality online education. Our international students are typically from expatriate families who wish to study in English and foreign students who desire a U.S. high school diploma. In addition, we have entered into agreements that enable us to distribute our products and services to our international and domestic school partners who use our courses to provide broad elective offerings and dual diploma programs.

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Our educational platform also offers the ability to deliver products and services directly to families. These purchasers desire to offer supplemental educational products to further their child’s existing public or private school education. Customers of our consumer products have the option of purchasing complete curriculum, individual courses, tutoring, career learning products, or a variety of other supplemental products, covering various subjects depending on their child’s needs. Typical applications include summer school course work, home-schooling, enrichment, and educational supplements.

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We provide adult learning programs that address the skills gap facing companies in the information technology and healthcare sectors. We provide in-person and remote immersive full-time software engineering programs designed for adult learners looking to advance their technology careers by providing such learners with skills and real-world experiences. Our allied health programs provide self-paced, fully online structured training programs that lead to certifications in the healthcare field. We can also provide these programs directly to enterprises to create customized, tailored education plans to help companies train, upskill, and reskill their employees.

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Instructional Costs and Services Expenses

Instructional costs and services expenses include expenses directly attributable to the educational products and services we provide. The public schools we administer are the primary drivers of these costs, including teacher and administrator salaries and benefits and expenses of related support services. We also employ teachers and administrators for instruction and oversight to support traditional public schools and private schools. Instructional costs also include fulfillment costs of student textbooks and materials, depreciation and reclamation costs of computers and printers provided for student use, the cost of any third-party online courses and the amortization of capitalized curriculum and related systems. Our instructional costs are variable and are based directly on our number of schools and enrollments.

Our high school offering requires increased instructional costs as a percentage of revenues compared to our kindergarten to 8th grade offering. This is due to the following: (i) generally lower student-to-teacher ratios; (ii) higher compensation costs for some teaching positions requiring subject-matter expertise; (iii) ancillary costs for required student support services, including college placement, SAT preparation and guidance counseling; (iv) use of third-party courses to augment our proprietary curriculum; and (v) use of a third-party LMS to service high school students. Over time, we may partially offset these factors by obtaining productivity gains in our high school instructional model, replacing third-party high school courses with proprietary content, replacing our third-party LMS with another third-party system, leveraging our school infrastructure and obtaining purchasing economies of scale.

We have deployed and are continuing to develop new delivery models, including blended schools, where students receive limited face-to-face instruction in a learning center to complement their online instruction, and other programs that utilize brick and mortar facilities. The maintenance, management and operations of these facilities necessitate additional costs, which are generally not required to operate typical virtual public schools. We are pursuing expansion into new states for both virtual public and other specialized charter schools. If we are successful, we will incur start-up costs and other expenses associated with the initial launch of a school, including the funding of building leases and leasehold improvements.

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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general, and administrative expenses include the salaries and benefits of employees engaged in business development, public affairs, sales and marketing, and administrative functions, and transaction and due diligence expenses related to mergers and acquisitions.

Also included are product development expenses, which include research and development costs and overhead costs associated with the management of both our curriculum development and internal systems development teams. In addition, product development expenses include the amortization of internal systems. We measure and track our product development expenditures on a per course or project basis to measure and assess our development efficiency. In addition, we monitor employee utilization rates to evaluate our workforce efficiency. We plan to continue to invest in additional curriculum development and related software in the future. We capitalize selected costs incurred to develop our curriculum, beginning with application development, through production and testing into capitalized curriculum development costs. We capitalize certain costs incurred to develop internal systems into capitalized software development costs.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as the related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of our analysis form the basis for making assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, and the impact of such differences may be material to our consolidated financial statements. Our critical accounting policies have been discussed with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. We believe that the following critical accounting policies affect the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services using the following steps:

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Revenues related to the products and services that we provide to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade or adult learners are considered to be General Education or Career Learning based on the school or adult program in which the student is enrolled. General Education products and services are focused on core subjects, including math, English, science and history, for kindergarten through twelfth grade students to help build a common foundation of knowledge. Career Learning products and services are focused on developing skills to enter and succeed in careers in high-growth, in-demand industries—including information technology, healthcare and general business, for students in middle school through high school and adult learners.

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The majority of our contracts are with the following types of customers:

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Funding-based Contracts

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We provide an integrated package of systems, services, products, and professional expertise that is administered together to support a virtual or blended public school. Contracts generally span multiple years with performance obligations being isolated to annual periods which generally coincide with our fiscal year. Customers of these programs can obtain administrative support, information technology, academic support services, online curriculum, learning systems platforms and instructional services under the terms of a negotiated service agreement. The schools receive funding on a per student basis from the state in which the public school or school district is located. Shipments of materials for schools that occur in the fourth fiscal quarter and the upcoming school year are recorded in deferred revenue.

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We generate revenues under contracts with virtual and blended public schools and include the following components, where required:

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To determine the ratable amount of revenue to recognize in a fiscal quarter, we estimate the total expected funds each school will receive in a particular school year. Total funds for a school are primarily a function of the number of students enrolled in the school and established per enrollment funding levels, which are generally published on an annual basis by the state or school district. We review our estimates of funding periodically and update as necessary by adjusting our year-to-date earned revenues to be proportional to the total expected revenues to be earned during the fiscal year. Actual school funding may vary from these estimates and the impact of these differences could impact our results of operations. Since the end of the school year coincides with the end of our fiscal year, annual revenues are generally based on actual school funding and actual costs incurred (including costs for our services to the schools plus other costs the schools may incur). Our schools’ reported results are subject to annual school district financial audits, which incorporate enrollment counts, funding and other routine financial audit considerations. The results of these audits are incorporated into the Company’s monthly funding estimates. For the years ended June 30, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Company’s aggregate funding estimates differed from actual reimbursements impacting total reported revenue by approximately 0.8%, 1.8%, and 2.8%, respectively.

Each state and/or school district has variations in the school funding formulas and methodologies that it uses to estimate funding for revenue recognition at its respective schools. As the Company estimates funding for each school, it takes into account the state definition for count dates on which reported enrollment numbers will be used for per pupil funding. The parameters the Company considers in estimating funding for revenue recognition purposes include school district count definitions, withdrawal rates, new registrations, average daily attendance, special needs enrollment, academic progress, historical completion, student location, funding caps and other state specified categorical program funding.

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Under the contracts where we provide products and services to schools, we are responsible for substantially all of the expenses incurred by the school and have generally agreed to absorb any operating losses of the schools in a given school year. These school operating losses represent the excess of costs incurred over revenues earned by the virtual or blended public school (the school’s expected funding), as reflected in its respective financial statements, including our charges to the schools. To the extent a school does not receive sufficient funding for each student enrolled in the school, the school would still incur costs associated with serving the unfunded enrollment. If losses due to unfunded enrollments result in a net operating loss for the year that loss is reflected as a reduction in the revenues and net receivables that we collect from the school. A school net operating loss in one year does not necessarily mean we anticipate losing money on the entire contract with the school. However, a school’s net operating loss may reduce our ability to collect its management fees in full and revenues recognized are constrained to reflect the expected cash collections from such schools. We record the school’s estimated net operating loss against revenues based upon the percentage of actual revenues in the period to total estimated revenues for the fiscal year. Actual school net operating losses may vary from these estimates or revisions, and the impact of these differences could have a material impact on results of operations.

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Subscription-based Contracts

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We provide certain online curriculum and services to schools and school districts under subscription agreements. Revenues from the licensing of curriculum under subscription arrangements are recognized on a ratable basis over the subscription period. Revenues from professional consulting, training and support services are deferred and recognized ratably over the service period.

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In addition, we contract with individual customers who have access for one to two years to company-provided online curriculum and generally prepay for services to be received. Adult learners enroll in courses that provide specialized training in a specific industry. Each of these contracts is considered to be one performance obligation. We recognize these revenues ratably over the maximum term of the customer contract based on the defined contract price.

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Enterprise Contracts

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We provide online job training over a specified contract period to enterprises. Each of these contracts is considered to be one performance obligation. We recognize these revenues based on the number of students trained during the term of the contract based on the defined contract price.

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Income Taxes

Accounting for income taxes prescribes the use of the asset and liability method to compute the differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and the related financial amounts, using currently enacted tax laws. If necessary, a valuation allowance is established, based on the weight of available evidence, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. Realization of the deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities, is principally dependent upon achievement of sufficient future taxable income. We exercise significant judgment in determining our provisions for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and our future taxable income for purposes of assessing our ability to utilize any future tax benefit from our deferred tax assets.

Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax determination involves significant judgments that could become subject to examination by tax authorities in the ordinary course of business. We periodically assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the impact on our deferred taxes and income tax liabilities and the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. Changes in income tax legislation, statutory income tax rates or future taxable income levels, among other things, could materially impact our valuation of income tax assets and liabilities and could cause our income tax provision to vary significantly among financial reporting periods.

We have a valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets of $7.4 million and $7.6 million as of June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively, for the amount that will likely not be realized.

Results of Operations

Lines of Revenue

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We operate in one operating and reportable business segment as a technology company providing an educational platform to deliver proprietary and third-party curriculum, software systems and educational services designed to facilitate individualized learning. The Chief Operating Decision Maker evaluates profitability based on consolidated results. We have two lines of revenue: (i) General Education and (ii) Career Learning.

Enrollment Data

The following table sets forth total enrollment data for students in our General Education and Career Learning lines of revenue. Enrollments for General Education and Career Learning only include those students in full service public or private programs where Stride provides a combination of curriculum, technology, instructional and support services inclusive of administrative support. No enrollments are included in Career Learning for Galvanize, Tech Elevator or MedCerts. This data includes enrollments for which Stride receives no public funding or revenue.

If the mix of enrollments changes, our revenues will be impacted to the extent the average revenue per enrollment is significantly different. We do not award or permit incentive compensation to be paid to our public school program

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enrollment staff or contractors based on the number of students enrolled.

The following represents our current enrollment for each of the periods indicated:

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Revenue Data

Revenues are captured by market based on the underlying customer contractual agreements. Where customers purchase products and services for both General Education and Career Learning markets, we allocate revenues based on the program for which each student is enrolled. All kindergarten through fifth grade students are considered General Education students. Periodically, a middle school or high school student enrollment may change the line of revenue classification.

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The following represents our current revenues for each of the periods indicated:

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Products and Services

We have developed curriculum, systems, instructional practices and support services that enable us to support hundreds of thousands of students. The following describes the various products and services that we provide to customers. Products and services are provided on an individual basis as well as customized solutions, such as our most comprehensive school-as-a-service offering which supports our clients in operating full-time virtual or blended schools. Stride is continuously innovating to remain at the forefront of effective educational techniques to meet students’ needs. It continues to expand upon its personalized learning model, improve the user experience of its products, and develop tools and partnerships to more effectively engage and serve students, teachers, and administrators. 

Curriculum and Content – We have one of the largest digital research-based curriculum portfolios for the K-12 online education industry that includes some of the best-in-class content available in the market. Our customers can select from hundreds of high-quality, engaging, online coursework and content, as well as many state customized versions of those courses, electives, and instructional supports. Since our inception, we have built core courses on a foundation of rigorous standards, following the guidance and recommendations of leading educational organizations at the national and state levels. State standards are continually evolving, and we continually invest in our curriculum to meet these changing requirements. We provide high-quality, engaging, online coursework and content in software engineering, healthcare, and medical fields.

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Systems – We continue to focus on establishing a secure and reliable technology platform, which integrates proprietary and industry-standard third-party systems, to provide a high-quality educational environment and gives us the capability to grow our customer programs and enrollment. Our end-to-end platform includes single sign-on capability for our content management, learning management, student information, data reporting and analytics, and various support systems that allow customers to provide a high-quality and personalized educational experience for students. Stand-alone products and services can provide curriculum and content hosting on customers’ learning management systems, or integration with customers’ student information systems.

Instructional Services – We provide a broad range of instructional services that includes customer support for instructional teams, including recruitment of state-certified teachers, training in research-based online instruction methods and Stride systems, oversight and evaluation services, and ongoing professional development. Stride also provides training options to support teachers and parents to meet students’ learning needs. Stride’s range of training options is designed to enhance skills needed to teach using an online learning platform and include hands-on training, on-demand courses, and support materials.

Support Services – We provide a broad range of support services, including marketing and enrollment, supporting prospective students through the admission process, assessment management, administrative support (e.g., budget proposals, financial reporting, and student data reporting), and technology and materials support (e.g., provisioning of student computers, offline learning kits, internet access and technology support services).

Financial Information

In this section of the Form 10-K, we provide our financial information comparison for the years ended June 30, 2026 and 2025. Our financial information comparison for the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on August 5, 2025.

The following table sets forth statements of operations data and the amounts as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods indicated: